Following is a link to a very disturbing but informative article regarding the Satanic cult known as Islam and how it it stealing, killing, and destroying Christians worldwide. (John 10:10) Muslim Attacks On Christians Leave it to the devil to devise a scheme to try to conceal a political system bent on world domination and destruction of infidels (Jews and Christians primarily) behind the disguise of a “religion of peace”! The spirit of anti-christ has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (II Cor. 4:4), as well as other earthly governmental authorities and also even many who profess to believe in God in order to promulgate the deception that to oppose these demonic forces is not the loving Christian thing to do, that capitulation and surrender to political correctness (translated: oppose Islamophobia in all its forms) is the correct course of action. We need to take a strong stand against such dangerous attitudes and rather oppose, with the truth and power of the Gospel, the purveyors of this thinking at every turn. ALL authority has been given to Christ and we have been commissioned to go make disciples of ALL nations under the auspices of His authority. (Matt 28:18-20) Did not Our Lord Himself “bind the strongman” and cast out the demonic by the Spirit of God? (Matt 12:28-29) Isn’t it time that we, as in the hymn:

Rise up O men of God, The Church for you doth wait. Send forth to serve the needs of men In Christ our strength is great, In Christ our strength is great.

The Church (our brethren worldwide) is indeed needing, yes waiting for us to be strong and courageous men (and women) in the face of this great evil to oppose such evil in the strength of our Mighty God!

Though it has been almost 2 years now since I first posted this on this blog, I am afraid that the Muslim immigration crisis in Europe has deepened during that time. My prior post was brought to mind after I just read two disturbing articles on the subject today, one of which said:

“New data from Sweden shows how immigration and refugees from Islamic countries puts especially women in danger. 92 percent of all severe rapes (violent rapes) are committed by migrants and refugees. 100 percent of all attack rapes (in which the victim and the attacker had no previous contact) are committed by that same group. In other words, thousands of Swedish women would not have been raped and thereby traumatized for life had it not been for the influx from Islamic countries.” (Source: jihadwatch.org)

and the other:

“Italy says that it is unable to cope with this year’s expected flood of refugees, and is demanding help from the European Union, or else it will close all its ports to ships carrying migrants

Italy’s migrant welcome centers are in a state of “collapse” as huge waves of African migrants take advantage of the temperate climate to make the crossing from Libya to the Italian peninsula.

On Tuesday, 8,500 African migrants are reaching Italian shores aboard 14 different ships, adding to the 5,000 who arrived on Monday. The massive arrivals have led local media as well as politicians to speak of an authentic immigrant “invasion” exceeding the country’s capacity of assimilation.

Officials reported on June 15 that more than 65,000 migrants had arrived since the beginning of the year, but that was prior to the latest influx. Figures for the year now stand at 73,380 migrants into Italy, or a rise of 14.42 percent over the same period in 2016, when then-record arrivals had reached 64,133.

The exodus from Libya to the Italian coast has continued unabated with no visible action on the part of the Italian government or the European Union to halt it.”… (Source: Breitbart.com)

So, more than ever, brethren, it is time to pray for the Spirit’s enlightenment for those in authority, that they will heed the warning signs and stop the immigration madness before it is too late for the West!

A Few Thoughts on the Immigration Crisis In Europe
Originally Posted on September 20, 2015 by theupwardcallofgod
In the ongoing dialogue looking at the massive Muslim immigration problem (approximately 95% of the new refugees are Muslim) going on worldwide it has been helpful to see this from various perspectives. Here is another one I had not considered: the safety and well-being of our families, especially our wives and children. Please see this link: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6527/migrants-rape-germany

Though it seems a very pious Christian sentiment to suggest that God may be sending these people to us to evangelize ( I believe that the Great Commission is for us to go into all the nations, not for unbelievers to come to us), there is inherent danger in allowing, as Germany has, such a mass migration of single Muslim men into the heartland of their country (80% are males, most are under 35 and single-which translates into 640,000 Muslim men “invading” this small European country in 2015). I would fear for the safety of my wife and daughter if over a half million Muslim men were released on our streets in the U.S. And yet that is the desire of many Liberal Progressives in this nation (John Kerry just yesterday-September 19th-upped the requested number of Syrians the U.S. should take in to 85,000).
I unapologetically oppose any being allowed in until such time as a thorough vetting procedure is put in place (there is legislation in Congress currently that would place a moratorium on this UN sponsored placement fiasco called the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314): https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-introduces-bill-to-give-congress-oversight-of-syrian-refugee). We are already the most accommodating country for refugees and immigrants in the history of the World. But, we have the Rule of Law in our country. Let those who want to come get in line and apply. Perhaps we bump up the numbers of asylum-seekers allowed to apply in light of these extraordinary circumstances. But in no way do we open the borders as many liberals would like to see!

This is serious, brethren, as I have been espousing for over 5 months now! Please support the bill in Congress with an email or call to your Congressman this week. Yes, God is in control. But, as Os Guinness has said in his book “The Call”, the perspective that everything that happens must be God’s will is really an Islamic viewpoint (Allah’s will be done), not a traditional Christian perspective. He sets up the governments of men and the Rule of Law. Without it we are left with chaos, anarchy, and rampant unlawlessness–or else despotism sets in. We are bound as Christians to do our duty under our current governmental structure, because we were born “for such a time as this”!

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

-Martin Niemoller, a German Protestant Pastor During Adolf Hitler’s Regime

In the ongoing dialogue looking at the massive Muslim immigration problem (approximately 95% of the new refugees are Muslim) going on worldwide it has been helpful to see this from various perspectives. Here is another one I had not considered: the safety and well-being of our families, especially our wives and children. Please see this link:

Though it seems a very pious Christian sentiment to suggest that God may be sending these people to us to evangelize ( I believe that the Great Commission is for us to go into all the nations, not for unbelievers to come to us), there is inherent danger in allowing, as Germany has, such a mass migration of single Muslim men into the heartland of their country (80% are males, most are under 35 and single-which translates into 640,000 Muslim men “invading” this small European country in 2015). I would fear for the safety of my wife and daughter if over a half million Muslim men were released on our streets in the U.S. And yet that is the desire of many Liberal Progressives in this nation (John Kerry just yesterday-September 19th-upped the requested number of Syrians the U.S. should take in to 85,000).
I unapologetically oppose any being allowed in until such time as a thorough vetting procedure is put in place (there is legislation in Congress currently that would place a moratorium on this UN sponsored placement fiasco called the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314): https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-introduces-bill-to-give-congress-oversight-of-syrian-refugee). We are already the most accommodating country for refugees and immigrants in the history of the World. But, we have the Rule of Law in our country. Let those who want to come get in line and apply. Perhaps we bump up the numbers of asylum-seekers allowed to apply in light of these extraordinary circumstances. But in no way do we open the borders as many liberals would like to see!

This is serious, brethren, as I have been espousing for over 5 months now! Please support the bill in Congress with an email or call to your Congressman this week. Yes, God is in control. But, as Os Guinness has said in his book “The Call”, the perspective that everything that happens must be God’s will is really an Islamic viewpoint (Allah’s will be done), not a traditional Christian perspective. He sets up the governments of men and the Rule of Law. Without it we are left with chaos, anarchy, and rampant unlawlessness–or else despotism sets in. We are bound as Christians to do our duty under our current governmental structure, because we were born “for such a time as this”!

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

I just read the post of another Christian blogger today entitled “Bake for Them Two”. She approached the current controversy raging across America (highlighted by the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed by their state legislature back on March 26, 2015 and signed into law by Governor Mike Pence) over the issue of freedom of conscience versus the right to non-discrimination based on sexual preference. Most everyone has already heard of this loud, ongoing debate that is raging in our culture, so I won’t restate it here. What I would like to do is offer a different Christian perspective than that which was promulgated by the author of the above referenced blog spot, Jessica Kantrowitz. (See the post at: TENTHOUSANDPLACES.ORG )

The headline caption on this blog post is a pointedly biased paraphrase by the author of Matthew 5:41 where Jesus said, “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” Her mis-appropriation and mis-interpretation of this Scripture by paraphrase as it applies to supporting the premise of the argument made in her blog post is: “If someone forces you to bake a cake for a gay wedding, bake for them two.” So let’s see if we can’t break down her premises one at a time in light of what the Bible really says.

But, before we delve into that, let me first take a moment to sort cursorily through the judicial arguments at play here and establish a simple legal hierarchy which to follow. I do this primarily because the blog’s author begins by setting up her position of persuasion from the standpoint of Jesus being under Roman rule and Roman law at the time of His earthly ministry. Since, according to her blog, a Roman soldier could compel you to carry his equipment a mile, that the Christian response Jesus advocated in His Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew Chapters 5-7, was to “go the extra mile” and carry it two. This is a straw man argument!

A key point to make is we are not under Roman law as the Jews were at that time in history. They were conquered people forced to live under the laws of their conquerors, the Romans. Hence Jesus says, “If anyone forcesyou to go one mile”. Thankfully, because of the founding of this great country of ours by wise and godly men based upon the principles of free religious expression, a Biblical worldview, and upon the heritage of English Common Law, we do not (at present at least) have to be compelled to do something (whether carry a soldiers gun or bake a gay couples cake) that goes against our wishes. You may say, “yes, but if you are open for business to the public then you must give equal protection under the law and not discriminate against those who seek your services.” I agree, as far as that goes. But let’s look a little deeper into the issues.

Herein is the crux of the dispute: Do anti discrimination statutes trump a person’s First Amendment right to “the free exercise thereof” of their religious views guaranteed by the First Amendment? This is part of the legal hierarchy I mentioned where I believe that a law found in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution trumps a state or federal statute against discrimination. And, I would take this a step further up the mentioned hierarchical chain; God’s Moral Law trumps all of our laws, even the U.S. Constitution when it comes to issues of conscience. For example, though abortion has been upheld by the highest court in our land as a protected act, if I believe (rightly) that this practice violates God’s Moral Law then I have a duty to my conscience to oppose this barbaric practice at every turn, and most certainly when it comes down to being forced to be complicit in this practice, even if only passively. I will obey a Higher Law as it trumps the lower laws. So the hierarchy is this: God’s Moral Law (as revealed in His Holy Word), The Bill of Rights (Constitutional rights), then local, state and Federal laws. We are blessed to live in a country under such a system where not only are most of our laws fair and just, but we also have a right to free exercise of our religion, and a God-given right to dissent when these laws violate our understanding of His Moral Law. What a great country we live in!

So, it is reasonable for one to conclude (as I understand the baker in question at the Indiana pizzeria did) that though they would serve any customer who came into their place of business, they could not provide food (cake, pizza, hors d’ oeuvres, photographs) for a ceremony that had significant religious meaning for them without violating their conscience. This I also agree with. I will not here get into why “gay marriage” is a misnomer applied to a Biblical covenant between a man and a woman and is not marriage at all, but rather save that subject for another post on another day. The beauty of our free enterprise economy is that there are other places to take your business if a merchant does not want yours. There are plenty of other butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers who would have no “conscientious objection” to catering a gay event.

This raises another free enterprise question that perhaps the writer of the blog post did not consider. She says that if the law (anti-discrimination law I suppose) says you should bake the cake, then bake two. How would a customer, any customer, react to ordering a cake and then getting two and being charged twice for them? OK, you say. Give them the second at no charge. So now, the baker is not only expected to violate their conscience, but at the same time lose money in the deal? Astounding!

She further goes on to equate a Christian’s living by their dictates of conscience as “digging our heels in and insisting on our right to discriminate”, and as such this attitude and action “sends hundreds and thousands of people fleeing churches and Christianity entirely”. If it is done hatefully, I cannot disagree. But we are called to be winsome in our message of love, though not compromising, as I will discuss now.

So, what does Scripture say to us that might help us know the right way to respond in this situation? Let me first start by agreeing with Jessica about the real point of this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which is “The Law of Love”. That because God loves all people, the righteous and unrighteous (sinners; and such we were), so we too are to love all men, even those who do not love us and may even be our enemies. That is transformational love. That is God’s supernatural love in action!

However, her conclusion that the right thing for Christians to do is to violate their consciences and their understanding of God’s Moral Law in the hopes of being loving and conciliatory and not hurting and driving people away is wrong-headed and a misunderstanding of the Scriptural principal. Lost people do not need to see capitulation, appeasement and compromise from Christians! It is sadly too often made by those who (she made a point of saying that she does not believe gay marriage is immoral) often use it to try to promote a tolerance that leads to a loss of the distinctiveness of God’s Holiness as expressed in His Moral Law. This is a true disservice that we do to our brothers and sisters, whether gay or straight, I believe.

So, what is the correct Christ-like response? I believe that it can be found in Paul’s admonition to the Ephesian church to grow in Christ-likeness by “speaking the truth in love”. Ephesians 4:14-16 It can also be found in Jesus’ example with the woman at the well in John 4:17-19, as well as in his response to the woman caught in adultery in John 8:10-12 (both of which, by the way, were violations of the religious moral laws and the civil laws of the land).

To the woman at the well he spoke truth (“sir, I perceive you to be a prophet”), and did not dance around her immoral history, but rather met her where she was at through honest and truthful dialogue and in a non-judgmental manner, with the ultimate goal of helping her find her true need met (of which the multiple sexual dalliances had only been her way of seeking to satisfy this true need), which was and is the “Living Water” borne out of a relationship with Christ!

To the woman caught in adultery who was about to be stoned (as the law required), He simply said to her (after the accusers had all left) “neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”He spoke the truth in love and yet held to God’s Moral Law without capitulating to the circumstances of the situation of that person and compromising on moral truth.

This is living by the Law of Love; God’s highest Moral Law. This is what we as believers are called to do; to love God first and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is what Jesus said in Matthew 22:35-40: “One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

As to the rhetorical question in the title of this post, I would say this: We all know Jesus was not a baker, he was actually the bread itself. He is the Bread of Life to all who will come and eat!

William Merrill, in 1911, penned these lyrics to the well-known hymn, challenging men to live godly lives and influence their world:

Rise up, O men of God!Have done with lesser things.Give heart and mind and soul and strengthTo serve the King of kings.

Never has the need been greater than in our time for men with the courage and conviction to live lives of personal holiness and strong Christian conviction in order to be influencers for Jesus in our rapidly-degnerating society. Without strong fathers families fail. Without strong Christian fathers, families, our culture and the world fail!

Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9-12 (NIV):

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

As I pray for revival to come to America, I must first pray that it will come to my life, that I will choose to break free from a luke-warm brand of Christianity and live a life of supreme obedience to my Lord. As a father on this Father’s Day, this is my challenge to all fathers who make the claim of being a Christian. Are you living your faith out to such an extent that you are an influencer for the kingdom amongst your children, your wife, your work associates, your community? Are you presenting a true picture of Jesus to those around you? If not, then revival cannot and will not come to our churches, and the world will continue to see Christianity as only an anemic, poverty-stricken faith.

Consider these convicting words of George MacDonald as expressed through the namesake character in his novel “Thomas Wingfold, Curate” first published back in the late 1870’s:

“The waves of infidelity are coming in with a strong wind and a flowing tide. Who is to blame? God it cannot be, and for unbelievers, they are as they were. It is the Christians who are to blame. I do not mean those who are called Christians, but those who call and count themselves Christians. I tell you, and I speak to each one of whom it is true, that you hold and present such a withered, starved, miserable, death’s-head idea of Christianity; that you are yourself such poverty-stricken believers, if believers you are at all; that the notion that you present to the world as your ideal, is so common-place, so false to the grand, gracious, might-hearted Jesus-that you are the cause why the truth hangs it head in patience, and rides not forth on the white horse, conquering and to conquer. Until you repent and believe afresh, believe in a nobler Christ, namely the Christ revealed by Himself, and not the muffled form of something vaguely human and certainly not divine, which the false interpretations of men have substituted for Him, you will be as, I repeat you are, the main reason why faith is so scanty in the earth, and the enemy comes in like a flood.”

Rise up then, O fathers. Have done with lesser things! We have a soberingly serious duty to present a true Jesus to a dying world if ever a revival in the Church and a spiritual awakening of our culture is to come.

The topic of today’s blog is actually a shortened repost from 5 years ago:

Does God really care who wins the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship? And further, by extension, does He care who wins the Super Bowl, the gold medals given out at the Olympic Games, the BCS Bowl games, Johnie’s Little League game or any other sport venue of your choice for that matter? And what about the Women’s Basketball Championship, where Texas A&M just minutes ago knocked off “God’s Team” (or so say some of my devout and well-meaning Catholic friends)? The answer (my answer, of course, as this is my blog)? Unequivocally, yes!

So what team does God root for? And don’t you think that if he had a favorite team He would certainly have the “pull” to make sure they won every time? Would it be Notre Dame or someone else? Would it be the team with the most Christians on it or with a Christian coach or the one with the most noble motives (good guys don’t always finish last)? There are certainly plenty of folks on both benches and in the home and visitor stands desperately and fervently praying to the same God at the same time asking for the same outcome; a victory. Whose prayers will He hear? If we all knew the answer then the odds makers in Las Vegas would have to close up shop and go home!

Pay attention here. I said that I believe that God “cares” who wins, not because of individual or team favoritism (Scripture says there is no partiality with God), but because of a higher purpose-to shape the character of those playing the game (and watching it too sometimes-over-zealous team parents!). He wants to create more Christ-like character in those players that are His children, and use these players and the circumstances of the game and its outcome to testify that His ways are higher than our ways, even to those who do not have a relationship with Him yet. The trophies of this world all tarnish and are forgotten. Many end up in garage sales or landfills. No one can recall (except sports trivia junkies perhaps) who was Champion 5 years ago, 10 years ago, was MVP in 1998, etc., etc. Not surprisingly, a majority of people when asked can’t even tell you who played in the Super Bowl last year, much less who won!

So God cares who wins not for the reasons most of us care who wins. Not because it is our alma mater playing. And most assuredly not because we have a substantial bet on the outcome, or think the coach is a good man, or the underdog (David versus Goliath) deserves a little favoritism. No, rather it is for His higher purposes; that those who are His or will become His begin to take on the character of His only begotten Son, Jesus. That’s it? Really? That’s it!

Sometimes that process is very public and readily apparent and comes through magnificent victories and at other times it comes through defeat and is realized and internalized only by the individual competitors in the privacy of their own soul searching moments. I remember Kurt Warner, while playing for the St. Louis Rams, giving glory to God on national television after winning the Super Bowl trophy and Super Bowl MVP trophy in what was arguably the greatest Super Bowl of all time against the Tennessee Titans (where the game was decided on the last play of the game by literally the length of the football!). I also vividly remember backup quarterback Frank Reich’s wonderful testimony following his leading of the Houston Oilers to the greatest come from behind victory in NFL history against the New York Giants. (He also holds the record for the greatest come from behind victory in college football as well). But, I am impressed with a different recollection of a post-game interview of an injured and humbled Colt McCoy, having been knocked out of his last game as a Texas Longhorn early in the first quarter of the BCS National Championship game in 2010, giving God the glory and seemingly understanding the higher purposes at work in his life, even though his team had just lost and he was unable to contribute and play which would have undoubtedly made a difference in the ultimate outcome of the game.

So, we need as Christians to look beyond the outward success, see into the inward process, and measure the results by our upward progress. It’s all about the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, the living Word of God!

“Because all flesh [mankind] is like grass and all its glory [honor] like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off. But the Word of the Lord [divine instruction, the Gospel] endures forever.” I Peter 1:24,25 (Amplified Version)

“For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things.” James 3:2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Truer words regarding the day-to-day condition of the believer have not been spoken! We all stumble. We all fall. We all offend. And we do so often! Furthermore, our frequent stumbles are not limited to one area of our lives or one singular type of offense, but rather occur “in many things”.

I don’t know about you, but this verse encourages my heart. Why? Because it informs me and reassures me that I am not alone in my failings. We are all familiar with the verse in Romans Chapter 3, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (v.23) We usually read this verse in the context of the unregenerate sinner as it pertains to salvation. And so it does aptly apply. But, it also contains the same principle found in our key verse in James 3:2, that we all fall short. None of us is perfect. Nor even close to achieving perfection. And our imperfections come out often and in many varied and sundry ways.

Similarly, a well-known and oft quoted passage, I Corinthians 10:13, says,”No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man…” (NASB), or in the Amplified Version, “For no temptation-no trial regarded as enticing to sin (no matter how it comes or where it leads)-has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man…” Do you see the parallel? We are all tempted to sin in various forms and unto various outcomes. The rest of the verse promises God’s faithfulness in not allowing us to be tempted beyond that which He is able to render aid and make us able to bear up under it, escape it, or endure it. In other words, He is the giver of the power to stand under trial and prevail! Just as Hebrews 4:15 tells us,”For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (liability to the assaults of temptation), but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” So, we know that positionally we have the same power to resist temptation that Jesus had and with the same success of outcomes, yet experientially we know that success is not always the case. We do fail the test, we do fall short, we do often stumble and fall! Which is why I Cor. 10:12 is antecedent to verse 13. It warns us,”Let any one who thinks he stands-who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm-take heed lest he fall into sin.” (Amp.)

The Apostle Peter also speaks about “knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (I Peter 5:9 NASB) The Greek word used here for accomplished is “epiteleo” and means to finish, complete that which has been appointed (yes our trials are designed by God for our good!), and be perfected, so that strong encouragement is to be found in the successful passing of these tests to sin that others have endured and come through, passing with flying colors or sometimes just by the skin of their teeth! This same verse gives us an important clue into the nature of this testing as well; that there is an adversary (the devil, prowling about as a roaring lion) who longs to trip us up and see us fail.

So what is to be our posture in times of temptation? I Peter 5:6-12 tells us:

Be humble (vs.6)

Cast onto God our anxieties about our suffering (vs.7)

Be sober-minded, self-controlled and alert (vs.8)

Resist the devil (vs.9)

Stand firm in the faith (vs.9)

And what are the promises He gives in this same passage?

He will exalt and lift us up at the proper time (vs.6)

He cares for us (vs.7)

The testing is but for a little while (vs.10)

He Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us, grounding us and settling us and completing us to make us what we ought to be (vs.10)

But the most important promise? His grace! He is called the God of all grace in verse 10. Peter himself then testifies in verse 12,”that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” It is by grace we have been saved unto salvation. It is also by grace that we are brought through our various trials and testings, both when we have endured and passed these testings and also when we fail them and stumble and fall and offend in many things! Grace would not be grace if it were earned by our behavior would it? We, having begun our relationship by faith through His grace (Ephesian 2:8,9) are “being perfected” in our faith in the context of that same grace. A grace that is greater than all of my sin!